DVR use with antenna

I get very good digital reception with my HD antenna system and digital TVs. However, sometimes I would like to record one program while I watch another. I have reviewed some information on digital video recorders (DVR), but have not been able to find one at a reasonable price that includes a tuner and antenna connection. Does anyone have a recommendation and a source for purchase?

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The price is NOT reasonable, but this is the only one I know of, Channel Master CM7000PAL. You could also use a Media Center PC with a tuner card or usb, but that's another story altogether.

you can get it at Fry's, Walmart (online) and others. You will find the prices are all $350 plus. It is based on the DTVpal DVR that is no longer being produced... That one had quality issues, but as far as I can see by reviews this one has got those issues resolved. The major issue with it is the program guide may not work well in your area. Just buy it where you can return it easily if there is a problem.

Note, if you think it's expensive, consider that its free of monthly fees, unlike others like TiVo. The TiVo boxes cost the same or more, but it's about $12.95 a month for service.

As MrPogi mentioned, if you have a computer with Windows 7 or Windows Vista you can use Windows Media Center to record your shows. You will need at least one TV tuner card. If you have two you can record two shows. Any digital ATSC tuner will do (digital ATSC or digital OTA). The SiliconDust HDHomeRun gets you two tuners for $150. It's not the cheapest option, but the HDHomeRun works extremely well for OTA and can be shared amongst multiple computers. If that's too much, woot.com often has cheap tuners for sale so be on the lookout. I picked up some cheap ATI tuners for ~$25 each.

As for the display, you do not need to tie your computer to your TV. If you have an XBOX 360 you can view TV through the xbox which will connect to the computer on your network. New it is around $200 last I checked. You can find a used XBOX 360 for less than $200. Of course if you're willing to connect the PC to your TV you can forego the XBOX and your total cost is just teh cost of the tuner.

So total cost for a basic setup is around $350 not including the computer (which you probably already have?)

And unlike TiVo there are no monthly fees.

Now, this is just a basic setup, and there are many things you can do with media center... but for basic recording needs it will do.

there are several dual tuner cards that will allow you to watch and record at the same time, or record 2 shows at once, however with these you really need to do our homework, as often they have one dtv tuner and one for cable.

there are several dual tuner cards that will allow you to watch and record at the same time, or record 2 shows at once, however with these you really need to do our homework, as often they have one dtv tuner and one for cable.

That is true.

One of them I would recommend is the AVermedia HD Duet which has two ATSC/QAM tuners built in. It is a dual tuner card with a PCIe interface. It has dual 5th gen ATSC receiver chips from LG. It does not have analog which is not really a problem unless you have low power stations in your area or want to record from analog cable. You can find it online for about 50 bucks or so. I have one in my media center box.

If you would "need" the analog, there's tons of analog capture cards for almost nothing out there that work great. I've got a few here in a box, as a matter of fact - along with a bunch of spare and obsolete computer stuff.

If anyone ever needs a serial mouse or parallel printer cable, yes, I have it.

If you would "need" the analog, there's tons of analog capture cards for almost nothing out there that work great. I've got a few here in a box, as a matter of fact - along with a bunch of spare and obsolete computer stuff.

If anyone ever needs a serial mouse or parallel printer cable, yes, I have it.

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